Apropos our frustration at the current level of political backwardness and historical ignorance of so many US citizens, and apropos the 100th anniversary of the state-sponsored murder of IWW union organizer and Swedish immigrant, Joe . . .

Hot stuff come to everyone from Newark, NJ. A dictatorial school superintendent, appointed by Governor Chris Christie, imposes the typical undemocratic corporate-takeover plan on the cityís school system (close the neighborhood schools, open privatized-ish charters . . .

All the evidence points to the upcoming year as a time for a major struggle across the USA against the so-called "Common Core" being promoted by the Obama administration through the U.S. Department of Education . . .

The following article came to my attention and I think Substance readers want to add this to their information about the current struggles of the resistance to high-stakes testing. As readers already know, the movement . . .

In this essay below, originally published at Huffington Post, Steve Early covers one aspect of the Obamacare privatized healthcare debacle: the concerns of organized labor (what's left of it!!) about how employers are already manipulating . . .

Mexican teachers are fighting back vs the neoliberal policies of the "new-PRI" government, and highlighting the link between "high stakes accountability" in education ("education reform," the Mexican version of NCLB and Race To The Top) . . .

Today teachers in the USA need to think about the need for courage in the face of absurdity and the damage done to children. In the essay below, published in Education Week, Alfie's Kohn"s inspirational . . .

Former Texas Commissioner of Educatoin Robert Scott has blown the whistle on how corporate representatives and the U.S. Department of Education under Arne Duncan used strongarm tactics to force states to adopt "Common Core Standards" . . .

Test mania in Texas is beginning to recede. Compalints from middle class parents against thehigh school tests have prompted a bill in the state legislature, while a new website recommends posting comments in support of . . .

"Chicago Teacher" is a nice rap song explicitly composed to support the Chicago Teachers Union during their recent strike. An example of "conscious rap" which only seems available in the Bay Area and on . . .

Here is a text message report from Norm Scott, an old teaching buddy and co-founder of the opposition caucus within the UFT teachers' union. Since retirement, Norm has published an online daily magazine of education . . .

The following has been making the rounds and deserves to be linked from Substance as well. As you know, the Buffalo Beast prank called Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, pretending to be billionaire David Koch, the . . .

Below is the EdTrust West's statement of support for teacher bashing by the LA Times, written by their latest flak, Arun Ramanathan, recently minted with his EdD by Harvard. Another one of their string of . . .